Building Better Club Websites - Introduction

Beginnings

Next Steps

It began with a club webmaster looking around at what others had done.
There were good and interesting websites ... but there were the other kind
too.

Peter Kidman was so horrified by the poor websites that
he penned a rant about their faults for Film & Video Maker and
sent it to me for comment before submission to the magazine. I saw little
value in simply publishing an attack, but great possibilities in turning
his sharp vision, focused thinking and considerable expertise into a positive
guide for others.

Thus began this series of articles.

It quickly became clear that the subject needed more space than a magazine
page allowed. So the printed versions became condensed highlights and on
this website we could spread our wings and explain ideas in more depth.

As I write this, the series of articles continues
to develop.

Only time will reveal whether our efforts have made a difference. But the
exercise of two very different personalities collaborating has thrown up
other ideas ... most exciting is the possibility for clubs to send live video
over the web, again free of charge, for the benefit of members who cannot
attend or even to share with other clubs. (See
Finchley TV Goes on Air
for details.)

But there was more, we noted with some dismay that out of the 264 IAC
affiliated clubs around 93 had no website at all. It therefore followed that
help was needed at a even more fundamental level  to get clubs to even
commit to having any website never mind improving the one they had. This
is where the
Weebly system
came in.

I had long wanted to prepare a practical, hands-on guide to help people start
building a website. But the problem of writing to suit different computer
systems and different web design programs held me back.

Inspired by Peter's energy and enthusiasm I dug deeper and found the
Weebly system
which works entirely on the web itself. All you need is a web browser.
What's more it is totally free. There are other free tools around but most
require you to pay to have your new wesite "hosted". This one offers free
hosting too.

So Peter drafted articles about the principles of good website design - listed
under the heading Website make-over and I started with the bricks
and mortar for website virgins  listed under Beginners:Build a
Website We collaborated a lot and after the initial phase my practical
articles became supporting pieces for the general articles.(See the Weebly
way tips)

We are on a crusade to help AV and movie-making clubs recognise the rich
possibilities of the wired age and enjoy the publicity and club morale benefits
of a good website. The IAC were persuaded to support this drive with a
Best
Website Competition  starting in 2011.

Share your passions.

Share your stories.

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Authors' views are not necessarily those of the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers.
Website hosted by Merula. JavaScripts by JavaScript Source. Menu by Live Web Institute.
Art work by Tony Kendle.